Shino is quiet in everything he does. In living, in killing, and in loving, too.
"Welcome home," you tell the faint whisper of movement that signals his arrival. He treads carefully across the wooden floor as if unwilling to disturb the silence that had been resting.
"Hi," he leans in to brush his lips over yours, your cheeks, the bow of your cheekbone, and the shell of your ear. Like a cat, you'd called it, the first time it happened. He'd blushed mercilessly at that, pouted for half an hour until you reassured him that you loved him, loved the way he loved, too.
His hands take hold of your shoulders, gently kneading the tense muscles there. "How was work?" He mutters, never one to talk first, always rather willing to listen.
So you tell him, the highs and the lows, show him the cut in the palm of your hand that healed up nicely, and bemoan the loss of a strand of hair, victim of a stray kunai. He reacts accordingly, pressing curious fingertips against your new skin, cocking his head to assess the new - unwanted - haircut.
"It looks good," he decides. "I like it."
"You'd like me bald, too."
He smiles, barely there and gone again. "I like you," he explains, choosing the smarter path. "Have you eaten?"
"Not yet. I wanted to wait for you."
"Let's cook together," Shino says, though he doesn't stand, content to stay seated, it seems, letting his hands travel over yours.
"How was work?" You ask him now, cherishing the moments you have that stretch out like a blank canvas, daring to be filled.
"Good."
"Tell me more."
Shino's quiet when he talks. He used to swallow half-sentences when you met him, always forgotten, too used to being ignored. He still does it, sometimes, when he's tired or too caught up in his own mind.
Your hand in his reminds him, over and over again, that he's got someone to listen. Someone who cares.
Shino is not like other guys his age. He has known this for all his life and it does not ring less true now that he’s in College.
He has friends, yes, but he thinks that’s more due to the fact that they are just as weird as he is, only in their own way.
Kiba is, for all intents and purposes, more animal than human. He smells like it, too.
And while Shino wouldn’t call him a friend but rather an acquaintance, he cannot deny that he spends most of his time around the guy.
Then there’s Hinata, who hangs out with both of them despite every logical reason against it.
She’s quiet, the unassuming heir of an empire, and smarter than the world likes to believe.
If asked, Shino calls her his best friend. Mainly because it makes her smile, and Kiba gets annoyed. A win-win-win situation.
-
“There’s someone in my Class,” Hinata points out one sunny afternoon, her eyes closed as she tries to get her pale skin to tan. “Moved here. I’m supposed to show her around.”
“Ah?” Shino’s not really interested in chitchat. He’s halfway through his thesis on the Pear Psylla, one of many underestimated insects he cares deeply about. The only reason he’s outside and not working on his thesis is the fact that he needs to bring in evidence of the insect. So far, it remains to be caught.
“She’s nice,” Hinata adds. “I think she’s had a tough childhood.”
“Haven’t we all?” Kiba asks, lifting his head from where it had rested on Akamaru’s stomach to squint at them, and Akamaru wags his tail as if agreeing. “Why are you telling us this?”
“I invited her over,” Hinata adds, just as the crunch of gravel announces another person arriving.
Shino can’t quite see you, not with your face in the shadow and the sun hitting his shades just the wrong way. All he has is sound.
The sound of your steps, careful and quiet. Your voice, equally composed. And the soft sound your clothes make as you crouch down beside him, coming closer before he has the time to gather himself.
“Can I help you?” You ask.
“He’s just looking for a bug,” Kiba announces somewhere behind him before Shino has a chance to say something.
“What kind of bug?” You seem interested, or maybe you’re just polite, but the fact that you’re still this close at the mention of insects and the likes doubles his respect for you.
“The Pear Psylla,” Shino explains, pushing his shades up his nose.
He can see you now. He wishes he couldn’t.
You look lovely. Exactly the kind of girl that screams at the sight of him, that spreads awful rumors around school because he likes bugs and insects and spiders more than, well, people.
“I haven’t heard of that yet.” You plant yourself next to him. “What does it look like?”
“Do you really wanna help him look?” Kiba asks. “You can enjoy the sun, you know? He’s not going to be mad.”
“Oh,” you blink, a gesture so tiny yet oddly comforting. “I’m sorry, I didn’t want to push myself onto you. I can back off if you’d like.”
“It’s fine,” he harrumphs. “Why? That’s because two people see more than one.”
-
“Hey!”
Shino looks up from his book, surprised to find you standing in front of his table at the library.
He’s not sure what’s more surprising. That someone dared to approach him, or that it’s you out of all people.
“Do you mind?” You ask, pointing at the chair across from him. When he shakes his head, you slide into it, put your notebook right in front of you.
“Can I ask you something?” He leans in, a little too curious but unable to stop himself. “There are many free chairs. Why are you sitting with me?”
“Oh,” you look around before turning back to him. “Because I know you. You’re…” You seem to struggle as you look for words. “Safe.”
“Safe.” He repeats, a little dumbfounded. You look pained, and he nods, drops the topic like it doesn’t mean much. Shino’s no stranger to conversations he doesn’t want to hold.
But he remembers Hinata’s words. You didn’t have the best time, growing up.
“It’s fine,” he adds quietly, not quite sure if you’re able to hear him. “There’s always a free chair at my desk.”
-
Shino’s friendgroup has grown.
He still prefers to call Kiba an acquaintance, but he dreads the day someone asks for his best friend. Is it you? Is it too bold to say it? He’s not sure.
But since no one’s really asking, he tries not to think about it.
Instead, he can spend time with you.
Sitting quietly beneath pear trees, content with sharing the same space and different thoughts at the same time.
He’s yet to learn about the details of your childhood, but he can see the impact of it. How you flinch at loud noises, go quiet when Kiba’s regular discussions go a little overboard, his voice rising above normal levels.
-
“This is my father,” Shino explains, feeling a little dumb.
The similarities are pretty obvious, he thinks.
You nod wordlessly, offering your hand. Shino wonders what you see. What you think.
Shino hasn’t invited friends to their hikes before. Kiba’s too loud and Hinata’s secretly still a little scared of the creepy crawly out in the wild.
But Shibi takes it in stride, although that just means neither of them speaks for the first half hour up the mountain.
Although it seems to be just what each one of them needs.
Shino can feel it in his shoulders, the tension bleeding away. Your posture changes just the same, melting into something softer he longs to hold.
During the first break, you stand close enough that your arms brush every time you move, just the smallest of touches, but enough to have him memorize the fabric of your shirt, the crease right where the sleeve ends.
They’ve only been going at it for a little less than an hour. Shino can’t help but wonder what the next three hours will bring.
-
“Shino,” you stop, halfway to your car. “Can we talk for a moment?”
He hesitates, torn between the opinion his father might have of him now and the wish to be closer, always closer.
Shibi nods. “Go on. I’ll put away our findings.” Boxes upon boxes of samples are stacked next to their car, a work Shino usually shares with his father.
But you’re still waiting for him, nodding in the direction of your car for a little more privacy.
“Yes?” He asks, a little anxious and a lot more confused. You’ve never wanted to talk to him in private before. Or has he read the past wrong?
“I like your Dad,” you admit quietly, looking over his shoulder at the bright blue sky. “He’s like you. Safe.”
“Okay.”
You smile, the little gesture weighed down by the sadness he can see in your eyes.
“I’m sorry,” you say next, your voice heavy, “for asking. But… I think I might not be wrong, I just…”
“Yes?” He adds, when you trail off, rub your thumb over the rest of your fingers, an anxious gesture he hasn’t seen on you before.
“Would you go out with me?” You ask, the words rushed out under your breath. “It’s okay if you say no. We could still be friends, I promise. I just… felt like… I wanted to ask.”
“Yes,” Shino answers plainly, anxious over the fact that he’s lacking the words to explain himself better. “How?”
“How?” Your brows furrow. “How we would go out?”
“Yes.” He nods. “I’ve never done that before.”
Your smile returns, hopeful this time. “Me neither,” you admit freely. “I guess we can try and learn together, right? I like…” You nod in the direction of his father, the hiking trail, the boxes of bugs, and the samples they collected. “I like doing this with you. We can do this again. And if you want… we can learn together. Law isn’t all that interesting, though, I’m afraid.”
“It’s going to be interesting, coming from you.”
Your smile blinds him. He doesn’t wish for shades at all.
Shibi Aburame is not a frightening man by nature. He is quiet, unassuming and he tends to be forgotten in a crowd.
Which is why you’ve picked him for this particular job.
“Please repeat yourself,” he asks, the steam of his freshly poured cup of tea fogging up the darkness of his sunglasses. “Why? That’s because you are not making much sense.”
“I understand,” you say, biting back a sigh. “I have come to Konoha as a fugitive, so to speak. You are aware of that, I assume?”
He nods.
“My father, the self-proclaimed Daimyo of the Land of Sound, has had close ties with Orochimaru for years. He used him and got used in return. He wanted to live forever, or, if that turned out impossible, die by the hands of his one and only worthy successor. For that reason, he made sure to have plenty of children, which he in turn pitted against each other.”
“I am aware of that as well,” Shibi adds quietly. “As the leader of the Aburame Clan, we were informed of your background. It was a joint decision to let you stay here.”
“Thank you,” you fold your hands on the table. “I believe you voted yes as well.”
“I did.”
“Currently, I have only one living sibling remaining. But I have been made aware that my father has had many relationships, and this child… I want it to grow up differently.”
“You want to take it from its mother?”
“No,” you hesitate for the first time since coming here. “But my sources have told me that she’s very sick. Some even doubt she will make it far enough to give birth. I have no reason to believe that my brother could be behind that, but there’s always room to speculate.”
Shibi is quiet for a while. He picks up his cup and takes a sip of his tea and you wonder what he’s thinking about.
Is he thinking about the biological father of the child? The man who had no problem letting his children fight to the death for his own amusement?
Or is he thinking about you, the person who killed said man less than six months ago?
“I understand why you can’t be raising the child yourself,” Shibi finally breaks the silence. “But I am surprised you are putting this much trust in a family you are not yet that familiar with. Can I ask for your reasons?”
You tense involuntarily, and you’re sure he notices, even if he doesn’t let on. The Aburame’s are very perceptive.
It’s one thing to ask for a favor this big. It’s another to reveal what made you do it.
You look around once, check if anyone is listening in. No one seems to care about your conversation, the two quiet people sitting in the corner furthest from the door.
You have thought about this choice in great detail. You could count down all the things you think necessary or praise the way the Aburame Clan keeps their privacy intact.
But you’re pretty sure that’s not what he wants to hear.
And he will know when you lie.
Shibi waits patiently until you turn back to him. He reminds you of Shino in that moment, or maybe Shino reminds you of him.
“I have noticed how you and your son interact,” you admit quietly.
“Are there any other possible candidates?”
“Yes”, you admit. “The Lee Clan has no family Jutsu that could hint at an obvious adoption. And the Akimichi Clan is also known for their, well, nurturing nature. I would want my future sibling to have a life where they feel loved, if I can’t do anything else for them. But it would always be obvious that he’s not one of them.”
“But they could hide their differences behind a cloak,” Shibi points out what you had considered. You nod.
“I will have to speak to Shino about this.”
You tense once more. “Can’t we keep this a secret from him?”
“No. Why? That’s because he’s going to be Clan Head soon. He will need to know either way. I presumed he’s already informed since you two are rather close.”
You purse your lips at the comment.
In truth, Shino has been the sole reason you waited so long before finally contacting Shibi.
He is a confusing man, has been since the day he was appointed as your main guard here in Konoha.
Half of you hopes that this arrangement will burn down what has started growing.
Shino’s quiet way of caring, a cup of tea ready when you wake up, or how he falls in line with you when you have to get going, as if he knows that walking alone makes you anxious.
But the other half of you knows you’ve only come up with this arrangement for him.
So that he can see you’re not the monster you believe yourself to be.
-
“My lady,” Hinata calls out to you, her hands folded in front of her. “I’m here to pick you up.”
You roll back on the balls of your feet, sweat dripping into your eyes. Chouji, a few steps away, shrinks back to his usual size.
“Looks like training is over.”
“Seems like it,” you nod, wiping your face. “Thank you for your help.”
“Oh, it was nothing,” he smiles, moving as if to pat your shoulder, before deciding against it. “I’m sorry Shikamaru wasn’t available.”
Neither of you mentions the fact that Shikamaru is, in fact, available. From what you can see, he’s sleeping on the ground a few feet away.
“I thought I had the afternoon free,” you tell Hinata when you reach her, accept the bottle of water she procures from somewhere. “For training. And I told you not to call me that.”
“I’m sorry,” she bows her head. She’s the most polite of all her peers. “I was notified by the Aburame Clan. They said it was important.”
“It is,” you nod, swallowing dryly. “Thank you. Is there time to get changed?”
“I’m afraid not.”
“Very well.”
-
Hinata waits outside.
You wonder if she’s using her Byakugan now too, keeping an eye out for possible assassination attempts, or if she trusts Shino to keep you safe as a fellow guard.
He’s quiet when you enter, but he stands and bows in proper greeting.
Shibi’s there too, as well as three elders, two women, and one man.
“We have decided,” Shibi announces as soon as you’re sitting. “We will take in your sibling.”
Relief washes over you, followed by a sudden bout of anxiety.
“Thank you,” you bow your head. “You will always have my gratitude.”
“About that,” one of the elders points out, her long grey hair framing her face like a curtain. “We will need it in writing. Everything.”
“Paper trails can be followed.”
She smiles. It’s a cunning smile. “Not if they don’t know where to look. But it would be very easy for you to forget about your gratitude once this is done and over with, don’t you think? Especially since no one is to know about it.”
Neither of them moves. You realize with a start that this is a test.
“In writing,” you say, your voice smooth and calm. “Of course. In return, I want my sibling to be a fully functional member of the Aburame Clan.”
The woman squints, clearly displeased.
“Do you think we’re just going to hand our Kikaichu to everyone who happens to pass by?”
“No,” you answer her, careful to keep your heart rate down. You don’t want them to know you’re nervous. “But if we come back from Otogakure with a newborn, how would that look? Now, if an Aburame is sent to Otogakure to retrieve a member of their Clan, one that was possibly captured years ago, one that had a child and used the newly built network to let his fellow clan members know, now that would be different, wouldn’t it? That child would grow up in Konoha, as a part of his Clan, and no one would question a thing. Well, unless that child lacked the Aburame Jutsu.”
The woman turns her head to stare at Shibi first, then Shino.
Neither of them moves for a while until she blows her breath through her nose.
“So you figured out that our Jutsu can be transferred even to non-Aburame.” She’s clearly pissed. “In turn, we want access to Otogakure. The forests there are rich with insects.”
“Granted.”
Stunned, she falls silent. She needs a minute to gather herself.
“Get it in writing then, Shibi,” she tells him, shooing him off like a little kid.
-
The contract is short, the scroll small enough to fit in one hand.
You hesitate one last time as you move to sign your name.
“What kind of bug will they get?” You ask, looking around. “It’s already decided, isn’t it?”
Now, the second woman finally opens her mouth.
“Shirakumo,” she says, “Show her the collection.”
The man who hasn’t spoken at all today gets up from his place and steps forward, unbuttoning his coat.
As he opens it wide, you can see rows of little glass jars that are tucked into the millions of pockets on the inside, all made from some mesh-like material.
“I am the Collector,” he introduces himself quietly. “I take care of our heritage. You will take me to Otogakure.”
You let your eyes wander over the rows of glasses. Some of the insects are so tiny you can’t even make them out. But there, right below his left elbow, is a speck of vibrant blue that captures your attention.
“These.” You point.
He pulls the glass out and hands it to you.
Three bugs are in there. Two are sitting on the ground, unassuming, greyish in color. But the third one has found its wings and they are, even though small in size, of an iridescent blue.
“They are used to gather intelligence,” Shino explains, speaking for the first time today. His voice is flat like always, but soothing to your nerves. “They can cover great distances in a short time and are hard to spot when they don’t use their wings.”
“So they can fly,” you point out the obvious. “I want them.”
“Are you sure about that?” Shibi asks. “They are very hard to handle.”
You think of your own set of wings and nod.
“Wings are a sort of freedom. Freedom is never easy to handle.”
Shibi x female reader with a name - arranged marriage
Summary: Airi Nara seems a hopeless case, until her grandmother sets her up for an arranged marriage. But was marrying Shibi Aburame the right choice after all?
Masterlist ; Character sheet (now with Hito)
THIS IS THE FINAL CHAPTER! WE MADE IT!
- 5 years after the Uchiha Massacre -
Natsu hasn’t spotted him yet, too distracted by a flock of birds.
“Oi, Shino!” Naruto points out, as usual too loud for the situation he’s in. “Someone’s waiting for you.”
Most of the kids turn to look at Naruto now instead of Shino, who’s slipping out of the crowd almost unnoticed. His shoulders are tense as he walks over, the tension not letting off even as Natsu does her best at climbing up his leg.
“I missed you!” She tells him. “It was boring at home.”
“Did you do your training?” Shino asks and she pouts.
“Course! I’m so strong I can totally kick your butt.”
“Ah,” you drag a hand through her hair which usually makes her let go of whatever she’s clinging to.
“What?” She asks, turning back. “I didn’t say ass.”
Shino grins into his collar, you can tell. You sigh.
“What did you do today?” You ask over Natsu’s chatter as you make your way home.
Shino’s classes run later than Natsu’s and although picking him up is a rather untimely break, you don’t mind doing it once or twice a week. Natsu’s easily distracted as it is, and that little break is often what she needs to focus for two more hours
“They told us what teams we’ll be getting into,” Shino tells you quietly, his hand slipping into yours as you make your way through a quiet alley, a gesture reminding him of how little he used to be.
“Really?” Natsu squeaks to your feet. “Who’s going to be your Sensei?”
“Kurenai.”
You furrow your brows. Kurenai’s known for her use of Genjutsu. Not the first choice for an Aburame.
Shino senses your hesitation. “I’ll talk to Father about it,” he replies.
“Who else is going to be in your team?”
“Kiba Inuzuka.” He pauses. “And Hinata Hyuuga.”
Ah. You can tell by the arch of his shoulders where the problem lies.
Natsu, not the least bit attentive, doesn’t. She rambles on, jealous that he’s going to get to be in a real Genin Team now while she’s just started attending Academy, that he’s going to be spending time with an Inuzuka - they have dogs! - while she trains with Kaede of all people.
But you know your son. Sometimes better than his father, it seems.
-
“What’s the problem with it?” Shibi asks after Dinner in the privacy of his office, the kids doing their homework on the other side - or rather Shino’s helping Natsu do hers.
“It’s Hinata. Hinata Hyuuga. He has a crush on her.”
Shibi drops his pen. “What?”
“Yeah, didn’t you notice?” You lean into him until he moves his legs a little apart, lets you take a seat on his lap. Over six years of marriage have not made you long less for his touch but even you’ve noticed that you’ve been exceptionally cuddly these past weeks.
“No,” he admits, pulling you a little closer. “Did he tell you?”
“Well, yeah.” You close your eyes for a second, reveling in the closeness. “I figured it out and talked to him about it. She’s really sweet, but apparently she’s head over heels for Naruto.”
“Poor Shino,” Shibi sighs. “I know that feeling.”
“Excuse me?” You lean back again to eye him. “When did you experience that kind of thing?”
“Well,” he pulls a face. “I did have a life before Zoka. There was this girl in my class… Looking back I can only be glad she never knew I liked her, but she was really into…” He stops, furrowing his brows. “I forgot his name.”
You laugh. “Well, let’s hope Shino will experience something similar. Do you…” You hesitate. “Do you plan on arranging a marriage for him as well?”
Shibi’s head knocks heavily into yours. “I was thinking about it. Chiasa brought it up. It’s too early for that yet, but I might talk to him about it, just so he knows.”
“He might not take the offer.”
“Yes,” Shibi nods. “He might not. But it’s his decision. Why? I won’t force him into something he has no desire for.”
You sigh. Your eyes wander over his desk, not really looking for anything but a distraction until they catch onto the picture pinned to the wall. Natsu, barely six months old, had wanted out of your hold so bad her arms and legs are blurry from the movement, but it’s not her your eyes latch onto. Behind her, body covered from head to toe, is Torune, smiling at the camera.
You still wonder about him daily, but the pain has lessened over time.
Shibi, sensing the shift, leans in to kiss your temple.
“How about we take a nice bath after the kids have gone to bed?” He asks. “Celebrate the fact that you put on some weight again.”
You laugh despite yourself. “That’s not usually a thing to celebrate.”
“It is to me.”
And you know what he’s thinking about, the time of your life you barely remember, when all you did was sleep and cry.
You suppose he’s right. Sometimes these things are worth celebrating.
- - -
It’s a rare treat to go shopping on your own and not just for necessities.
Shibi’s on a mission that should only last one day, Natsu’s training with Chiasa right after school and Shino’s training with his new Genin Team, leaving the house quiet except for the purring of Okita
Sure there’s things to do, like there always are. The laundry needs to be folded, the garden needs tending, but nothing is urgent and you’re craving a little window shop.
They say to never go shopping on an hungry stomach, but the same might be true for the opposite.
You find sweets for you and Natsu, a little trinket Toshiko will cherish, and the most practical gift you could possibly get Shibi - a multi pack of new boxer briefs - until you make your way through yet another store, remembering that you’ll need new toothbrushes soon.
You take a turn to the left and stare at a display of pregnancy tests, all but snorting at the price.
With a little bit of Chakra you can do that for free and since the aisle is empty, you do just so, proving to yourself that you might be a little rusty at the edges, but not that much.
The result has you freeze in surprise, hands still splayed out over your abdomen.
You try again. The result doesn’t change.
-
And it’s not like you changed your mind about having more children after Torune was taken away, but it had not been on the forefront of your mind anymore.
Grief had been. And then getting better.
The tea Chiasa had gotten you had moved to the far end of the cupboard, replaced by other, more needed things. A tea to soothe Natsu’s upset stomach or the fever she ran when teething.
To find out you’re pregnant again, at a time like this, in a place like this… You can’t help but laugh.
-
Natsu looks at you weird when she returns from her grandmother.
“Why are you smiling like that?” She asks, stomping adorably through the room to join you in the kitchen.
“I’m happy. Are you not?”
She harrumphs before taking a seat at the table, launching into a detailed explanation of today’s training, the bugs and birds she had seen and all the reasons why she needed to get a puppy.
Shino, much like his sister, halts at the door to eye you.
“You seem very happy,” he points out, sliding out of his shoes.
“I said that too,” Natsu exclaims, eager to show off.
“I am,” you explain simply, inviting him to the table. “Can you help me with the beans?”
“Did you get to pet Akamaru today?” Natsu asks before Shino’s even sat, disappointed when his answer is no.
You eat Dinner without Shibi, sadly a not so rare occurrence.
Natsu settles on the living room floor after Dinner to play with a lazy Okita while Shino curiously sidles closer on the Couch.
“Did something happen?” He whispers, mindful of his sisters nosiness.
“Yes,” you agree. “But I will have to tell your father first.”
Shino watches you for a second, his sunglasses giving nothing away. Then, just barely visible, his mouth quirks upward before he leans in to whisper even quieter into your ear.
“I hope this time I will get a quieter sibling.”
You snort, waving it off as a bad joke when Natsu perks up immediately.
“I know a joke!” She exclaims at that, sitting upright. “Where do the cows go to have fun?”
“Where, Natsu?”
“To the Moovies! Get it? Because they Moo!”
You laugh along with her, praising her for it.
She goes back to Okita after a while but Shino sticks close until he falls asleep with his head on your shoulder.
He’s grown so much, but he’s still your little boy after all.
- - -
Shibi takes one step into your bedroom before he halts.
“What happened?” He asks, his coat half open.
You laugh. “Why does everyone ask me that today? Is it hat obvious?”
“You’re glowing,” he comments before flinching back. “No!” He gasps. “Can it-”
“Yes,” your smile turns shy now, a hand pressed to your belly. “I went to the hospital to triple check. I’m two months along already.”
The sound Shibi makes sounds both like a sob and a sigh and he rushes over to cradle the barely there bump in his hands.
“So that’s the weight you put on,” he points out quietly, hands caressing the skin above the new life growing.
You rake a hand through his hair, overcome with too many emotions to talk.
He understands nonetheless.
“Do you want to call him Torune, if it’s a boy?” His voice is quiet, unobtrusive.
“No,” you shake your head, your voice tight. “No, I don’t… I don’t want to replace him. Torune will always be my son. If it’s a boy, he will be his own little person.”
Shibi nods, pressing a kiss to your stomach.
“Welcome,” he whispers. “We’re very eager to meet you.”
“Shino already knows,” you tell him once he’s settled in behind you, one hand cradling your belly.
Shino huffs out a laugh. “He’s too perceptive.”
“Do you want to tell Natsu?”
He laughs louder. “No, I know my limitations. That’s all yours.”
-.- Shibi -.-
Hito Aburame steps just as quietly into the world as he’d slipped into your life.
One day you’re still pregnant, your belly heavy, the next he’s there with you, watching the little carved antlers move above his bed.
You gave birth at night, a quiet, quick affair, Shibi’s hand tight in yours as Chiasa watched.
Hito has his fathers Kikaichu, your eyes and Shino’s quietness, charming his way into everyone’s heart, even that of stubborn Natsu who had been adamant not to like him.
“He’s very cute,” she admits just two days later, carrying him from one room to the next. Every thought of a puppy is forgotten when he blows bubbles at her, holds onto her pinky with his tiny fists.
-
Hito’s presence is sorely needed.
He’d been worried sick these past months.
The third Hokage has been killed, the attack almost taking Shino as well.
You’d watched him for days until the poison left his system, one hand on his, the other on your growing belly.
It had been a new fear, though not unfounded. He’d almost lost you over Torune, he doesn’t want to think what losing Shino would do to you.
The life of a Shinobi is hard, every mission might be your last.
But Shibi can’t help but think that the life of a parent is harder, knowing that no matter how hard you train your children they might not make it home one day.
And what world, he can’t help but wonder, what village, expects their children to fight the battles of grown ups?
- - -
The years pass.
They celebrate Shino making Chunin by visiting the bath house, a rather ironic celebration giving the fact that both Shino and him have to stay out of the water lest they overheat.
Hito doesn’t seem to mind the heat but you don’t dare risk it at his young age while Natsu dives into the water from every angle possible.
“Torune would be proud of you,” you tell Shino after Dinner, your voice thick with emotion.
Shino’s hand curls around yours and his, joining them together.
His son rarely smiles but tonight, he seems content.
-
Natsu’s Genin team consists of her, a quiet, massive Taijutsu User named Kenta Akimichi and the stubborn Genjutsu prodigy Umeda Daisuke, a clanless boy Natsu never stops complaining about.
“She’s got a crush on him,” you comment one rainy afternoon after Natsu’s stormed out to train, her tirade over Daisuke still ringing in their ears. “She just doesn’t know it yet.”
“Poor Daisuke,” Shino comments from where he’s packing his bag for a mission. “He doesn’t know what’s going to hit him until it’s too late.”
You laugh, both at Shino’s comment and Shibi’s awkwardness, his unwillingness to think about his little girl growing up.
“How about you?” You ask, pinching Shino’s cheek, lifting Hito up so he can do the same, the toddler clinging to you every waking hour. “Any girl worth crushing on?”
Red dusts Shino’s cheeks and Shibi straightens, trying not to pry.
“I’m fine as it is,” Shino points out. “I want to make… I want to make you guys proud.”
“I am proud,” you tell him, conviction heavy in your voice. “So, so proud.”
“Still,” Shino shakes his head. “I’m only eighteen. Who knows what’s going to happen in the next year or so? Naruto just came back and you know how he makes everything…”
“Interesting?” You offer at the same time Shibi mutters a quiet “Complicated?”
Shino shrugs.
“If you want me to look for someone-,” Shibi offers but Shino waves him off. “No, no, I’m fine.”
Shibi catches your eye. He knows that look and sighs. A little looking around won’t hurt.
- - - After the Shinobi war - - -
Shibi finds you at the hospital, not surprised to see you up and working even at midnight, a sleeping Hito tied to your back. He’s too old to be carried around like that, but the times are rough and he knows you wouldn’t leave him to sleep in some room when there might be a new attack any minute.
You pull him in for a hug the second you see him, your clothes just as drenched in blood and dirt as his.
“You’re alive,” you cry into his chest and he nods, eyes closed, relieved to be just for one second.
“Who did we lose?” You ask moments later, voice shaky as you brace yourself.
“Muta,” he watches you crumble at the name, holds you tight as you cry into his chest. All the other names will follow, but this one hurts the most. Toshiko’s your closest friend and Muta nothing less than your nephew, just another big brother of Natsu.
Shibi hasn’t heard of Shino yet, just knows that he’s alive.
-
Konoha does what it does best.
They rebuild itself from the dirt and the ashes, from the tears and the blood.
Natsu is quieter now, a constant companion to a grieving Kaede, sitting hours on end with him and little Hito as she ponders the injustice of the world.
Muta had been a person she knew, one she loved dearly. It’s the first death, the first loss she can really grasp.
Torune’s death hits you much harder, though not as hard as him saying goodbye all those years ago.
So much has happened in so little time that it seems almost comical that their house is still standing, their garden’s almost untouched from all those fights.
-
“Let’s come together,” you ask one Sunday morning, the first you get to spend at home after doing double shifts at the hospital all week. “Under the pear tree.”
The Blanket you spread out on the ground is one he knows well, the one you gifted Torune all those years ago, the one your parents made for you.
Hito settles quietly in your lap, the others following shortly.
Chiasa, Toshiko, Kenji and Kaede arrive as if pulled in by your shadows, settling in the soft shade.
It’s quiet outside, just the rustling of the wind in the leaves, not even Natsu utters a word as she lets Kaede sit close, shoulders brushing.
A shadow brushes past the edge of the house, blindingly blond hair reflecting the sun.
“Hi,” Naruto stands there awkwardly. “I wanted to- Is it okay if I-”
“Sit,” Shino motions toward a free corner to his right and Naruto waves at someone behind him who turns out to be Iruka.
The blanket is pretty much full now but you look around as if waiting for someone. Maybe you are.
“When I was dreaming in the Infinite Tsukuyomi,” you say into the quiet of the morning. “When I was dreaming, I saw us like this. Sitting together under this pear tree. My parents were there as well. Jurou and Zoka, Torune and Muta.” Toshiko sniffles loudly and you smile at her, taking her hand to squeeze it.
“And we didn’t have to do much. We just were and we were happy like this. And I think we can be like that, still.” Your eyes find Shibi’s and you smile, sad and happy at the same time.
“After all, no one’s truly dead unless they are forgotten.”
- - -
It’s only hours later, in the quiet of the night, that you shuffle close, your head coming to rest on his chest.
“What are you thinking about?” You ask.
“Everything and nothing,” he admits. “Torune, Muta, Shiruko. Zoka, too. The girl… The girl I found for Shino, if he wants it. Who’s going to be Hito’s Sensei when it’s time. Should he even become a Shinobi?”
“I thought you didn’t like thinking about the road not taken?”
“I don’t,” he sighs. “But my mind won’t let it rest.”
“Would it help you,” you ask then, “If we went down it together?”
He considers it for a second, your hand in his, his hand in yours.
“Always.”
THE END!
I am so proud of this story. This took some twists and turns and I'm sure it did not answer every question, not that it needs to. You won't get answers to every question in your own life either, sadly.
I modeled the events of the Shinobi War to what I know from the Naruto Wiki - so I didn't spend as much time on Torune's and Muta's death as I could have.
What do you think, though?
Will Shino accept an arranged marriage like his father?
What side character deserves a long story like this (and why should it be Nagato? 😉)
Or do you have any other thoughts you want to share? I'd love to hear it.
Thank you for all the support you've shown this fic. Shibi, Shino and the whole Aburame Clan are, after all, side characters. Often forgotten. But our love for them unites us in this corner of the interweb.
She needs a bottle every ninety minutes, requires to be held in a specific way, and rarely ever sleeps unless she’s being held.
It makes traveling back almost impossible.
But while you could stay indefinitely, under the risk of getting killed maybe, the Konoha Nin are needed back home.
“I want a maid,” you tell Sensei. “Someone quick on their feet and able to take care of the baby.”
He shakes his head with a smile.
“No such thing. The lighter you travel, the quicker you are. You and Sakura can take care of the little one.”
“I’m supposed to keep my distance.”
“You haven’t kept your distance yet,” he reminds you gently, “taking more people with you only increases the risk of getting caught.”
You hate that he’s right. You hate it even more that Shino agrees.
-
“Are you going to miss this?” Shino asks, the night before your scheduled departure. You’ve asked him to accompany you to the stone gardens, the only part of the palace you didn’t manage to destroy. It’s a coincidence, really, that it’s also your favorite part of the village.
“The stones?” You look around, at the shapes and sizes, the sight of them grown familiar.
“The village. But the stones, too.”
You hesitate for a second.
“I’m going to miss Sensei,” you admit. “But not this place. I prefer Konoha.”
He seems surprised. You wonder if you’ve learned to read him or if he’s just offering clues.
“I guess the forests there are… lush,” he offers, his voice unexpectedly timid, like he’s unsure of himself.
You hesitate for a second yourself, before answering.
“I prefer the people over the trees.”
His hand knocks into yours, gently, like a butterfly's wing. You don’t believe it to be an accident.
-
The arrow comes out of nowhere, dark wood and bloodstained feathers.
It grazes your side, cuts through the fabric of your shirt, and leaves your skin stinging.
It’s expertly shot. One inch higher, and Shiori would have been killed. One inch to the left, and your kidney would have been pierced.
“We’re under attack!” Sakura calls out in the split second you need to push Shiori into Shino’s hands and leap forward.
You know only one person with an aim this precise.
Your brother has found you.
-
There’s no time to talk as you dodge the next arrow, cut the third in half.
“Go,” you bark at Sakura when she tries to help. “Get out of there.”
“Are you insan-”
“Go!” You demand once more, your eyes cutting over to Shino, who’s covering both Shirakumo and Shiori. “I can take care of myself.”
For a split second, you fear she’s not going to listen.
And when she does, you’re not sure your brother is going to let them leave.
-
You’ve never had the misfortune to fight him before.
You’ve heard rumors about him. Raiden. The one who brings lightning and thunder to a place hidden in the sound.
He’s the reason most of your siblings didn’t make it through the first month of training at the Palace.
He was the first to be sent out on solo missions, trusted enough by the Daimyo that he could leave the Palace as well as the country.
You probably wouldn’t have been able to bring your father down with Raiden there.
And you know for sure that he’s not going to let you enjoy the peace you brought upon Otogakure. Not if he can help it.
-
“Fancy seeing you here!”
Raiden’s smile is smug as he steps out of the shadows. His being so close is not a good sign. While he’s an excellent long-distance fighter, he’s even more deadly up close.
“You think so?” You ask back, blowing a stubborn strand of hair out of your face. You’re not sure where the others are, but you can only hope they were smart enough to run. They have to be.
“Almost didn’t recognize you there,” Raiden adds. “All homey with a baby tied to your chest. Is it yours?”
You laugh. “Do I look like I want children? I was doing a colleague a favor.”
“A colleague,” he nods as if thinking about it. “Sure. So you’re not head over heels in love with someone from Konoha?”
“Why would I be?” Your fingers itch to pull out a weapon. But you know this back and forth aids you as well, conserves energy that you will surely need in a second. “Do I look like I have the time to fall in love with someone?”
“No,” Raiden’s smile widens. “You look like someone who’s about to die.”
His movements are smooth, too fast to catch for the untrained eye.
One second he’s standing there, chitchatting, the next he’s in front of you, Kunai aimed at your throat.
You block his strike and aim the other hand at his kidney, barely missing it.
It’s a back-and-forth, a deadly dance, one he has danced many times.
He’s got experience, more so than you.
But, you realize, as you do everything in your power not to die, you are not alone in this.
There’s a Kikauchi sitting on Raiden’s temple. It’s greyish in color, unassuming in its size and shape.
You might not have noticed it if not for the person you have become.
And that is what brings you down in the end. That heartbeat stutter of recognition. The thought of Shino, somewhere close. The worry and the longing and the love.
Raiden’s left hand slides in out of nowhere, something metallic glints in his grasp.
The pain is instantaneous, and you wonder if what you’re feeling is your lung filling with blood.
“I’ll make sure to greet Otogakure from you,” Raiden adds with the smug smile of a winner, pulling back for the finishing blow, only to freeze, his eyes widening in shock.
The Kikaichu on his face has tripled in size. It’s still growing as you sink to the floor, gasping for air that won’t draw into your lungs.
Raiden dies in front of you, a painful, horrible death, his Chakra swallowed by Kikaichu that keep and keep growing until they’re double your size.
Shino steps out of the shadows between them, his figure blurry.
“You are safe now,” he declares as he reaches you.
You try to laugh, but it’s hard enough to breathe.
“Don’t tell Sensei I didn’t finish the job,” you ask him, unable to tell him what you really want to say: How you think you could have loved him, given the chance.
“You can tell him yourself,” Shino promises, picking you up.
And he’s probably right. You could go on, fighting. For a few more minutes, just long enough that Sakura can work her magic.
He takes your hands and lets his temple rest against yours, a silent greeting.
He’s grown older since you’ve last seen him, or maybe you’re imagining things.
“How is she?” You ask when he pulls back, using the little time you have undisturbed.
“Not well.”
“I have done everything I could,” you assure him. “My guard on this trip is one of the best Medi-Nin I could get. She’s got a quick temper, so be careful with her.”
He smiles, clearly amused by your warning.
“And you brought some more,” he points out, nodding toward the door that hides away the Aburame’s.
“Yes,” you nod. “On paper, they are here on a separate mission. One of their clan members was captured by an Otonin years ago. Or maybe he got lost. They aren’t so sure about it. He managed to contact them, and they are here to find him and his family.”
“And they will find only a newborn?”
You nod.
“How much did it cost you?”
“Not enough.”
He sighs. “Layers upon layers, this trip of yours. Are you sure you told me all of them?”
“All you need to know.”
-
You would have preferred Hinata’s company on this mission, but at least Sakura’s presence keeps your emotions at bay.
You’ve never felt at ease with her like you do with Hinata, as if her temper and your own coldness have built walls between you.
“Come,” you call out to her that night after dinner, “We are following the Aburame.”
“Do we have to?” She doesn’t seem happy about your order.
“Yes.”
-
It has taken you seven days and twenty-two hours to cross the distance between Konoha and Otogakure. You remember that it took you half the time when you fled your city, but back then, you’d been running for your life.
This time, you had travelled like any other Shinobi, dressed in the colors of Konoha until you reached the border.
This time, you spent every waking minute staring at Shino’s back.
It feels like a betrayal that Shibi decided to send him on this mission.
It feels even worse that Shino has turned his back on you, clearly not interested in discussing this mission with you.
-
Years ago, way before you reached the age to be sent out to kill your siblings, Sensei told you off your brother.
“Usually,” he explained back then, “The Daimyo picks a woman who is unique in beauty or power. It is rare that he finds one that is both. Your mother was one of them.”
You sat in front of him, arms curled around your knees as you made yourself as small as possible, as if trying to fit yourself into the story he’s telling.
“She was so powerful that he paid her for her first child. She was powerful and she was beautiful, but she was poor, so sadly, she took the offer.
“And then my brother was born.”
“And then your brother was born,” Sensei nodded. “When he turned five years old, he was taken to the Daimyo’s palace to be trained. Now, since he’s made it a rule that no one could have relations with one of his women, your mother would have had to die. But she was smart. She asked to see him one last time, as a farewell.”
“And then he fell in love with her again?”
Sensei sighed. “I wouldn’t call that love, little one. But he was captured by her beauty once more. Your mother is the only woman I know who gave birth to two children of the Daimyo.”
You considered that for a second.. You might not have known then what you know now, but even then, you’d been aware of her death.
“Why didn’t she ask to see him again? She could have given birth to a third child, right?”
“Maybe. But she decided that since she couldn’t leave with you, she’d make sure to have you raised outside the palace.”
“By you.”
“By me. Now get up, little one. We have to get back to training.”
-
The girl is beautiful, despite her illness.
Her skin is darker than you’re used to in Otogakure, her eyes almost golden.
She recognizes you immediately, you can tell, coughing up blood in her frenzy to bow.
“Sakura, can you help her?”
“Of course,” she snarls back, already by the woman’s side.
You watch as Sakura’s chakra dances over her body.
She’s young. Not much older than you. Nothing about her makes you think that she’s had proper training, but there’s a light in her eyes that tells you to be wary.
“These men,” you explain slowly, “Have come to look for your husband.”
She blinks, clearly confused. “We have been notified that he might have been a member of the Aburame Clan. Is he dead? You only have to say yes or no.”
She nods vaguely, slowly catching on.
“You and your child will be free to leave with them and live on the Aburame compound.”
“I-” She opens her mouth, her voice weirdly distorted. “I’m not going to make-”
“I know.”
Sakura’s head whips around as she stares at you, bewilderment vivid on her face.
Shino is still next to you, unmoving.
Shirakumo’s slowly takes a seat on the floor behind you, as if settling in for a long night.
“We are here to make sure your baby will have a good life.”
“Do you promise?” She asks, her eyes not once leaving yours. But it’s Shino who answers.
“I promise.”
-
The baby, a girl, is born prematurely.
It happens at night, and you’re glad for it, the darkness that shields you from the world and the world from you.
“Hold her,” Sakura demands, pressing the baby into your hands. You forget how to breathe.
This is your sister, you think, with then toes and ten fingers, with a perfect little nose and a mouth that opens wide.
Her cries are loud. She is a fighter.
Shino names her Shiori.
He’s quiet as he asks to take her, quiet when you barely manage to give her up.
-
“Can we talk?”
You can’t tell if he’s looking at you or not, his glasses a shield you cannot penetrate.
Outside, the sun is rising.
You haven’t slept or rested. You’re not sure if your sister will make it through this day. And you have no right to care about her, not when you’ve had a hand in killing the ones that came before her.
Shino nods and steps aside, letting you into his room as if he were the Daimyo and not the other way around.
“You are not pleased with your father's decision,” you offer the only explanation that has made sense to you so far.
“I am not pleased with the way you handled it,” he disagrees.
“How else could I have handled it?”
“You could have asked me first.”
You swallow dryly, stare at the wall on his left.
Despite knowing him for less than a year, Shino has already mastered the art of dismantling your armour, the real one and the one around your heart.
“I didn’t know how.”
He’s quiet.
“What do you think of her?”
“She looks like you.”
You laugh in disbelief. “We look nothing alike.”
“In spirit, you do.”
And you know there’s nothing you want to believe more.
Shibi x female reader with a name - arranged marriage
Summary: Airi Nara seems a hopeless case, until her grandmother sets her up for an arranged marriage. But was marrying Shibi Aburame the right choice after all?
Masterlist ; Character sheet (now with Natsu)
Taglist open if you want to be added
As hard as it is, you have to change some things.
You cut your hours at the hospital even more, down to one day per week that you use to train someone as your replacement.
With the help of Shibi and Chiasa the entirety of the Aburame Clan is informed about the regular hours you will take patients, making sure that you have enough rest each day even if an emergency should occur.
-
The last part is the hardest.
You sit down Iruka, cry silent tears the whole time you’re explaining what’s going on.
“It’s okay,” he promises, grown so much in the few months he’s been a teacher now. “It’s okay.”
But it’s not, you can’t help but think.
Naruto deserves so much more than he’s getting and you’ll never be able to give him all you want to give.
Explaining it to him seems a little easier, though who knows how much of it he understands right now.
“You can always come over,” you promise. “Have Dinner with us whenever you and Iruka feel like it, okay?”
Curiously, the boy touches the swell of your stomach.
“There’s something growing inside?” He asks, clearly confused.
“Yes. A girl. Her name’s going to be Natsu. Torune picked that name.”
“Natsu.” Naruto grins. “That’s a cool name. Hey Natsu, you need to get out of there fast, so that we can play together.”
-
You politely decline Yori’s next invitation for lunch, delivering the overdue news of your pregnancy through Shibi.
For a whole week everything turns blissfully silent on her end. It’s clear that she’s mad. As a Clan elder you should have informed her earlier, but you can’t feel guilty. It has become clear that you need to limit contact.
Her next invitation comes through Shikaku, his tired eyes telling you more than his words.
“Don’t agree to it,” he follows up. “I didn’t tell you that if anyone asks, but you really need to rest. I can see how much good it has been doing so far.”
Natsu chooses that moment to kick you and you flinch.
“I’m not sure if the baby agrees or disagrees with you, but I’m not in the position to waddle all the way to the Nara compound anyway. Not in this heat at least.”
Shikaku grins. “I’ll let her know. If she wants to see you, she’ll have to come over during business hours.”
“Something like that. I’m sure Shibi will be delighted to see her again.”
The door opens, Torune peaking through.
“Hey,” you smile, waving him over, “You’re home already? Come here.”
“I don’t want to disturb.”
“Nonsense,” Shikaku straightens a little, watching him with a smile. “Airi mentioned you’re showing great progress. Have you ever played Go?”
“A little,” he admits, leaning into you now, careful not to touch you with any bare skin. “Shino showed me.”
“Great. Are you up to a game? Your mother always gets distracted.”
Torune blushes a little at that, like he always does when someone calls you his mother. But he slides into the chair next to you, leaning close as he plays.
Soon, he’s going to be signed onto missions, gone for days or weeks on end. You don’t want to think about it, want him close a little while longer.
“What do you think about going to the Onsen on the weekend?” You ask when the first game ends and Shikaku sets up the next. “Just the two of us?”
Torune smiles. “I’d love that.”
-.- Shibi -.-
Natsu is going to be born in the winter.
With everything else going on, the renovations aren’t going to be done in time for her birth but he agrees with you that next spring is going to be just as well.
After all, he still remembers how tiny Shino had been those first months, the crib too big for him.
Still, planning everything is taking a toll and he’s starting to understand why you left that to him, going to the Onsen with Torune instead.
“Do you want to have your bedroom downstairs?” He asks Shino, going through the sketches. “We could have you and Torune sleep downstairs. Natsu could take your room and Torune’s room turns back into an office.”
Shino considers that for a moment. “Someone has to sleep downstairs, right?”
“Yes,” Shibi nods. “Someone will have to sleep downstairs.”
“Natsu should sleep downstairs. Why? I had my room first,” Shino begins, stubbornness audible in his voice. A knock on the door cuts him off before Shibi can do so.
“We’ll talk about that,” he tells his son before making it over to the door, surprised to see Yori standing there.
“I am here to visit my great grandchild,” she announces with that air of arrogance Shibi has always disliked.
“Shino,” he calls for his son. “Your grandm-”
“Not-” Yori’s face turns red with barely concealed rage. “Your unborn child. My great grandchild.”
“Ah.” He doesn’t move and confusion appears on her features.
“Well? Aren’t you going to let me in?”
“No.”
“What’s that supposed-”
“You are not welcome here,” he tells her with the authority of a Clan Head and a Shinobi, stepping forward and closing the door behind him, keeping this conversation from Shino’s ears. “Until you change your ways. You are belittling my wife and you are belittling my Clan. Your great grandchild will be raised as the Aburame it is and as you don’t seem comfortable around insects, I suspect you should cut your losses now.”
“It will be half Nara-”
“So?” Shibi stares her down. “This child will know that it is loved and cherished. If you cannot do that, you are not wanted here. Goodbye.”
“You cannot do that!”
“Watch me.” He closes the door in her face this time.
The Aburame Clan might often be forgotten, but they have learned to turn the tables.
-
Your cheeks are glowing when you return, Torune’s just as pink as he trudges next to you up the stairs, hair mussed and limbs loose.
“Was it nice?” Shibi asks, hugging Torune and kissing you as long as his children’s watchful eyes allow.
“Very,” you beam before flinching. “But Natsu’s just as energetic as ever.”
“I am beginning to think she wants more attention. Why? She only kicks when we’re seemingly forgetting about her.”
“That could be true,” you agree with a grimace, rubbing a hand over your stomach. “Though she could be a little nicer about it. Are you guys hungry? I think we’re going to take a quick nap before Dinner.”
“Rest,” he agrees, kissing you again even though Shino’s already groaning in the background. “I’ll prepare the food.”
-.- Airi -.-
Kaede Aburame is born on a sunny morning in September, your legs numb from being up for hours.
Toshiko’s sweaty and teary-eyed, thanking you profusely as you hand her her second child.
“Look at him, oh, look at him Kenji,” she whispers, sinking into her husband’s chest as he brushes a single finger over Kaede’s plump cheeks.
And it’s not your first birth but it hits different this time.
Maybe because it’s Toshiko, who’s quickly turned into your best friend, who’s your sister in law and so much more, or Natsu’s birth drawing closer.
You long for Shibi’s hand to hold, surprised to step him into the room only half an hour later.
“Muta is awake,” he announces quietly, Torune and a sleepy Shino by his side. “The elders will be here soon.”
Shino cuddles into you, arms wrapping around your torso to press his face against the swell of your stomach, a greeting you’ve grown accustomed to.
“The Ritual,” you guess and Shibi nods, leaning into brush his lips across your cheek in greeting.
“You can go home if you need to rest,” he offers quietly but you shake your head. “I am fine. I want to be here.”
“It’s my first time attending too,” Torune admits just as Shino nods as well. “Mine too.”
“Oh?”
“They’re family,” Shibi explains briefly. “Family members should always be present if possible, each of them offering one of their own insects to the new host.”
“So Kaede could become host to any of the insects that are present?”
“Or a different one,” Torune adds quietly. “My father’s and my Rinkaichū were not part of our family before.”
You want to ask more, but the Elders arrival disrupts the bubble of calmness you had occupied.
Soon enough, you find yourself pressed against the wall in the small room, Torune to your left and Shino to your right, both boys holding your hands.
Toshiko’s resting, watching Kaede who’s being offered as a host, alone, in the middle of the room.
You can’t help but think of yourself in her position.
Soon you will be, watching as Natsu is presented, your family members surrounding you and the baby.
You wonder if Toshiko is afraid. Does she think about the possibility of Kaede taking to Torune’s Rinkaichū? Becoming a host that cannot be touched?
Are you afraid?
You squeeze Torune’s hand at the thought and he squeezes back as if he knows what you’re thinking.
Then, all of a sudden, Kaeda squirms, letting out a wail. Just a few steps away, Kenji lets out a sigh and Muta, usually so calm, presses his hands against his mouth, breaking his posture.
You want to ask but you don’t dare to break the tense Silence, don’t dare to step forward even as Kaede starts to cry.
Anxious, you watch as Shibi eventually moves forward, picks up the baby and delivers it to Toshiko’s arms.
“The Ritual is complete. Kaede has become host to the Shōkaichū.”
“That’s Muta’s kind, Mom.” Shino explains as Muta crosses the distance, settling next to his mother, reaching for his little brother. “I wonder if he’s proud.”
“Would you be proud?” You ask. “If Natsu got your kind?”
Shino considers that for a moment. “I don’t really want to share,” he eventually admits and you can’t help but bark out a laugh.
“You’d only have to give them two, though.” Torune points out. “They will take it from there. They’d be your Kikaichū’s children.”
“I’m to young to be a father,” Shino points out and you’re fighting the laughter that wants to spill out.
“What’s so funny?” Shibi asks, walking over.
Instead of answering you move to kiss him.
Later, when you’ve rested and the two of you are alone, you will tell him that you can’t wait. Just a bit longer and he’ll hold Natsu, will present her like he did with Kaede. You can’t wait for him to meet his daughter.
-
Snow comes early this year.
A thick white blanket covers the Aburame Compound, weighing down your steps as you make the distance to check in on Kaede, Shino sometimes traveling after you.
Muta’s often training with Torune, but his free time is now filled with looking after his little brother, so Shino responds accordingly, watching his youngest cousin with curious eyes.
“Is Natsu going to do this too?” He asks often, when Kaede burps or ends up covered in spit up.
He doesn’t seem to mind though, Kaede’s quiet character making him easy to love.
-
Shino’s old crib gets refurnished, Naruto almost making enemies when he proposes to paint it a bright orange on one of his visits.
The world outside has fallen into an almost peaceful slumber, the mission count going down in both risk and quantity.
You’re almost ready to burst by the time it’s ready for the yearly celebration of Konoha’s founding, but this time you get there early, stuffing yourself on the buffet next to Chouza while Shibi talks to the Clan Heads he needs to talk to alone.
“When is it due?” Chouza asks over Yakitori. You’ve begun to eat meat when you’re eating out, at least until the baby is here. Your iron levels have thanked you.
“In two weeks,” you tell him, flinching when Natsu kicks. “She’s ready to get out.”
“Ah,” Chouza nods. “An overeager one. Now, I know, Shikamaru took his sweet time coming out, but I still remember how we felt safe knowing Chouji’s due date was still a few weeks away only to have him surprise us a few days later. The little guy just wanted to taste real food, I’m sure.”
You laugh.
“I am keeping an eye on it, but her position isn’t right yet.”
“Ah,” Chouza smiles. “Like that would stop a determined baby.”
“Aburame-san!” Takeo Lee interrupts you at that moment, stepping closer. “My, how you’ve changed. Have I told you about my grandson before? Let me show you some pictures.”
-
Shibi’s quiet on the way home.
The peace outside of Konoha’s walls doesn’t seem to bring piece to the inside. The tension between some Clan’s is stifling and you wonder if he’d like to talk about it.
He hasn’t, so far. You know it’s safer for you that way, but you wish you could take those worries away from him, if just for one second.
“Do you wanna take a bath?” You ask, despite the late hour and the fact that you both showered in the morning. “I want to hold you.”
Shibi stops on the stairs, emotions flickering over his face before he nods.
It’s a quiet thing, these moments between you, the warm water kissing your skin with every movement
Shibi’s hands find your stomach, protective even when his mind is muddled. You draw a path into the mess of his hair, scratching his scalp softly.
“In case I haven’t told you yet, I am so so so glad that I got to marry you,” you tell him in the dim light of the bathroom. “You are the love of my life.”
-
The next morning brigns a fresh wave of snow, the paths the boys shoveled yesterday no longer visible.
You send them all of with a kiss and a Bento Box, too restless to read yet not willing to step outside and make the short trek to Toshiko for second breakfast.
You change the sheets on all the beds, fluff up more pillows for the living room and the master bedroom before finally lowering into the bathtub with chocolate and the book you’ve been wanting to read.
Five minutes in you realize something’s wrong.
Natsu’s coming, but she’s still not turned the right way.
You try to get out of the bathtub, panicking. This isn’t the moment to be left alone.
But the water has made everything slippery and you almost crash onto the tiles, catching yourself at the last minute.
“Breathe,” you tell yourself, “Breathe. You’re a doctor. You can do this.”
Dressing yourself in a towel you go through the options you have.
You can’t very well perform a C-Section on yourself, so you will have to try and turn her. You’ve only done that once before, the theory of it still in your mind even though the process hadn’t been successful back then.
“Who can help?” You mutter before realizing the obvious, creating a Shadow Clone. “Get dressed and get Chiasa. Tell her I’m giving birth and I need her help.”
-
Natsu is unwilling to move, her stubbornness already reminding you of Shino.
Chiasa’s calling your name from the hallway and you never felt as relieved to hear her voice than today.
“Bathroom,” you call out weakly. She enters without knocking, something you would have hated on every day but today.
She takes one look before crouching down next to you, pressing a hand to your stomach.
“She won’t turn,” you explain, fighting against another panicked sob. “I can perform a C-Section if you help, but-”
“She’s an Aburame,” Chiasa cuts you off. “She will listen. Why? It is in her blood.”
“What’s that supposed to-” The baby’s movement cuts you off. Whatever Chiasa is doing seems to work.
“Even though she is not a host yet,” Chiasa explains calmly and this time, just for your sake, your sure, “Natsu is already responding to the hive. Were you bathing? She probably didn’t like the water.”
You sigh. “Fussy Aburames,” you joke.
“Now that you’re out of the water and she’s turned, it might take a while until she is ready to come out,” Chiasa offers but you shake your head.
“Nope, this girl is already on her way out. She’s an impatient one.”
And you’re right, less than an hour later the squirming bundle is resting on your naked chest, wailing at the injustice of a world that dares to bath her right away.
“Shibi is on his way,” Chiasa announces. “Do you want me to bring you clothes?”
You sigh. “That would be amazing.”
-
Now you’re in Toshiko’s place, resting on the bed as Natsu is offered as a host. She’s not the least bit like Kaeda, squirming and wailing and just overall unhappy about it all.
Shino and Torune are pressed against the wall next to Muta, both of them wearing serious expressions.
You should have known, you realize, that you would not be scared.
Wether Natsu receives the Rinkaichū or not doesn’t really matter. She’ll be loved either way.
“The Ritual is complete. Natsu has become host to the Kikaichū.”
“Which one?” You ask as Shibi move to sit on the bed beside you, not yet willing to give Natsu back. You lean into him instead, cradling her tiny head as she raises her fists, her face a dark red.
“Chiasa’s,” he explains quietly as the people filter out of the room, one after the other. You know most of them will be back tomorrow to congratulate you.
You catch her eye as she moves to leave and you shake your head, beckoning her to stay.
“Thank you,” you tell her as Shino climbs onto the bed as well, peering down at Natsu as Torune hides behind Shibi. “For everything.”
To your surprise she flashes you a rare smile.
“Of course.”
“Do you want to hold her?”
To your surprsie, Shibi pulls Natsu closer. You laugh. “As soon as Shibi is willing to let her go, I mean?”
A soft red bloom on his cheek. “Just one more minute,” he asks and as you catch Chiasa’s eyes you know she doesn’t mind.
-.- Shibi -.-
He doesn’t sleep that night, his body restless next to yours.
But he doesn’t mind, content to stay awake and listen.
Natsu moves in her crib, the Kikaichū inside her multiplying by the minute. His mother’s kind is strong, resilient. Shibi has no doubt his daughter will be the same.
Would he feel different if she had taken to his kind? Would he be able to feel more joy than he already does? He doesn’t know.
You sigh next to him, your body warm and pliant against his.
You are alive. Still, even after today’s events. Yes, you are tired and recovering, but you’re already laughing, teasing, living just like before.
You turn to your side and fart and he can’t help but laugh, rub your back as you snore softly.
Shino is sleeping on the other side of the hallway, Torune one door further down. His family is safe and he can’t hep but marvel at its beauty.
With a sudden sound, Natsu wakes, wailing. You move to rise but he stops you, already out of bed.
“I got it.”
But it’s not that easy.
Natsu keeps on crying, loudly, as he takes her down the stairs and into the kitchen, away from the sleeping members of the family, prepping a bottle for her.
She latches onto it with fervor, drinking it down only to spit up on his shoulder the moment she’s done, crying softly as he rocks her to sleep.
Shibi thinks back to Shino, the first year after his birth. He’d been a quiet baby, only letting out a noise when his hunger seemed unbearable or his diaper needed urgent changing.
He has a feeling that Natsu will be different.
Shibi kisses the crown of her head as she falls asleep in his arms.
“Welcome to the family,” he tells her and feels her Kikaichū respond in kind.
Shibi x female reader with a name - arranged marriage
Summary: Airi Nara seems a hopeless case, until her grandmother sets her up for an arranged marriage. But was marrying Shibi Aburame the right choice after all?
Masterlist ; Character sheet (now with Natsu)
Taglist open if you want to be added
-.- Airi -.-
Torune is calm, Shino is reserved. Natsu is neither of these things.
Even at two months she quickly figures out when something’s going on without her, demanding to take part as loudly as she can.
Swaddling her in a different room is almost impossible and heaven forbid there’s ever a moment where she isn’t being touched.
Coupled with her seemingly unstoppable appetite everyone has a hard time adjusting, but most of all you.
“Rest,” Shibi declares in the mornings. You’d been up twice to feed her, barely able to calm her down when she realized that no one else but you was paying her attention.
You don’t have the energy nor the will to talk against that offer, watching with tired eyes as he picks her up with ease, her small body fitting perfectly into his arms.
The boys have figured out a way to keep her happy during breakfast, you’ve learnt.
The trick is to keep her moving, from one arm to the next, always a different face above her. If you’re quick at it, you have the bottle ready before she starts wailing.
-
A warm body slips under your blanket, not big enough to be Shibi and not small enough to be Natsu.
“Mom?” Shino asks. “Are you awake?”
“Barely,” you sigh, slinging an arm around him to pull him close. “Why?”
“Can I stay home today? I don’t feel so good.”
“What hurts?” You brush a hand over his temple. He doesn’t have a fever.
Shino doesn’t answer for a moment and you blink yourself a bit more awake.
“Shino?”
“Yeah?” His voice is a bit too high. So that’s what this is about.
“Do you want to skip school because you miss spending time with me?”
“Maybe?”
You sigh, turning onto your back. “How did you get this past your Dad?”
“I left with him and turned around half-way there.”
You sigh again, thinking it through.
“You can stay home today,” you offer finally. “But I need to nap for an hour before we do anything and after that we figure out a way to spend more time together, that doesn’t involve skipping school, okay?”
Shino snuggles into you, his voice a little too pleased for breaking the rules. “Okay.”
- - -
Four months after her birth Natsu has finally learned to sleep a bit longer, but now she’s picked up talking - or rather making noises - and the quiet hours are no longer quiet.
“Brrrrr,” she makes from her seat at the table, louder and louder until she finds enjoyment in a different sound.
Torune is a willing companion, sitting and listening for hours.
He has to be covered completely if he picks her up because her Kikaichu are just as nosy as their little host, not understanding that her big brother is not to be touched.
She loves to be carried, prefers being tied to the front over being tied to the back, reaching her plump little fingers for everything she can spot - Kunai, kitchen utensils, a nosy deer.
-
Having a child is everything you thought it would be and nothing like it at the same time.
Sometimes you find yourself remembering Naruto, curled up on your arm after a meal, his small body full of energy. Othertimes you watch Shibi carry her around, the two of them in a constant conversation that doesn’t need words and wonder if it would have been the same way if your life had turned out different.
If your fiancé hadn’t died, you wouldn’t be here.
And it’s easy to think that you wouldn’t miss Shibi if life hadn’t brought you here, after all you’d have had a different family of your own, but it’s so much harder to think of him, without you.
“What are you thinking about?” He asks as you pull him a little closer at night after Natsu has finally fallen asleep.
“What would have happened to you if life had turned out differently,” you explain, rubbing a hand over his chest, looking for his steady heartbeat. It calms you down, the sound of it, the warmth of his skin, that unique scent he carries.
“I don’t like thinking about it,” Shibi admits. “There are so many roads we could have gone on, so many steps we could have missed. What use is there in worrying about the road not taken?”
“I think it makes me appreciate the one I am on,” you reply and he kisses your temple.
“Even when it’s hard sometimes?”
“Even then.”
-.- Shibi -.-
Shino has the hardest time adjusting to his new sibling.
He’s always been a bite more prone to jealousy, shutting himself out if he deems himself forgotten.
And it’s hard for him, Shibi can tell.
It’s hard for all of them, on some days, when they’re running on too little sleep, still not quite used to the fact that Natsu is everything but quiet.
“You’ll be staying home today,” Shibi announces irregularly before handing Natsu off to Chiasa. “I’ve got a special training planned.”
Shino nods, his quiet demeanor betraying the joy over this decision. Everyone knows he’s struggling in school, the noise, the many people, the time spent apart.
You take him to the forest at least once a week now, train him in the duties of a Nara.
Shibi suspects that it’s not the appeal of the work or the deer that keeps Shino coming back to it, but the time spent just with you and you alone.
You regularly visit the bathhouse as well, spend hours there with Torune, just the two of you.
In less than two years their family has grown exponentially, just like the hive inside Natsu’s body.
-
“Ne!” Natsuo craws out, wobbling a little where she’s seated on a blanket on the floor. She’s pointing at Torune, crying with joy.
Her older brother hides his face behind his hands before opening them wide, calling out a “Peekaboo!” and laughing with her.
“Ne!” She calls him again, the shortest version of his name before recognizing Shino coming in from the front door.
“In!” She calls out, trying to scoot toward him. “In! Ne!”
“Hi,” Shino drops on the floor next to Torune, leaning in to let Natsu take charge of his face, her chubby fingers patting his cheeks. He’s always fondest of her after a time apart.
“Where’s Mom?”
“She’s at Toshiko’s,” Shibi explains calmly from the kitchen. “Kaede’s sick.”
“Is it bad?” Shino asks, blowing up his cheeks with air and releasing it whenever Natsu touches them, resulting in her laughter.
“No, she thinks his teeth might be coming in.”
They fall quiet again, playing with Natsu until the food is ready.
-
It’s easy, Shibi finds, to get sucked into a routine, to shut off your head just to get by.
He can’t get frustrated as easily when Natsu spits out her food for the umpteenth time, redecorating the table and everything surrounding her with little greenish globs.
But it would make him miss the great moments too, and they are plentiful.
-
“Open your mouth!” Shino pleads, spoon leveled with his sisters mouth. She goes crosseyed in her defiance.
“Can I try?” Torune asks. “You can make a figure out of your kikaichu, like you’ve learned. She might respond to that.”
They work as a team, Torune fake feeding the kikaichu lookalike of Natsu until the real Natsu gets impatient, begging to be fed instead. The first spoon safely makes it behind her lips and she swallows, crying out for more.
“Good job,” he praises them, careful not to distract Natsu too much lest she might disagree with her food again.
-
“Hey,” Shibi calls your name over the head of his sleeping children, all of them huddled up in his bed - and in Torune’s case encased in a sleeping bag - with you on the other side of it. “Are you still there?”
“Barely,” you groan back, wriggling out of bed. “Living room?”
He pulls you back a little on the way down the stairs, relishes in the scent of your shampoo and the feel of your skin against his.
“Do we need a bigger bed?” He asks once you’ve snuggled up on the Couch, eyes on the stairs in case one of the kids wakes.
You laugh. “Imagine we get another one.”
He tenses in surprise. “Another one?”
You shrug, mirth visible in your eyes. “I’m not proposing it, it just came out of my mouth like that.”
He smiles. “I mean we built two rooms downstairs and I don’t need an office that badly.”
You hesitate. “Are you sure? Natsu’s a handful and Shino was pretty jealous. It would be worse with another kid.”
Shibi pulls you in. “I’m willing to take what you’re willing to offer. Or, we can just let it happen. It’s not like we know what the future will bring.”
“Okay,” you nod slowly, a smile working its way onto your face.
He knows he’s done for way before you pull him in for a kiss.
- - -
“Something’s up,” you point out after the annual meeting. “And not like the times before, something’s really fishy.”
“Yes,” he agrees solemnly, “I felt it too.”
“Where do you think it’s coming from?” You hesitate at the front door of your house, leading him around it instead. Inside, Chiasa is looking after the kids and he wonders if you feel the same way he does - intent on protecting their peace for as long as possible.
“I think there’s something going on with the Uchiha’s,” he points out quietly, watching the skeleton-like branches of your pear tree move in the wind. “And while we always have to keep an eye out for Danzou, I think he’s preparing something. I just don’t know what.”
“Should we leave?”
Your question has him suck in a surprised breath.
Your face is open, looking at him for guidance.
“The Aburame… The Aburame used to be a nomadic Clan, right? We could be again.”
“What about the Nara? You’re bound to these forests.”
Tears brimm in your eyes as you step closer, let him pull you in as if the safety of his arms is worth anything.
“Promise me we’ll keep the kids safe,” you beg, clutching him tighter when he doesn’t answer.
It’s not that he doesn’t want to. It’s that he can’t.
Not when Torune is just shy of making Chunin and Shino’s path looks very much the same.
-
It happens exactly five days after Natsu turns one year old, a crude drawing of their family pinned to fridge thanks to Naruto’s visit.
They’re out back training, Torune teaching Shino under Shibi’s guidance, calmed by the knowledge of having you near, just on the other sie of the trees where Natsu’s having her afternoon nap.
Shibi recognizes the first guy, but not the second, not that it matters.
Danzou is quick to follow.
“You are in luck, Aburame-san,” he tells him instead of a greeting. “I’ve been looking for a Shinobi worthy to be a part of Root and I believe that I’ve found it in your son.”
Without a word, both boys step closer to him, following his soundless instructions.
Danzou chuckles dryly.
“Now now, don’t be shy. Shino it is, right? It is a great honor to be appointed this young. You’d be on par with any Anbu after your training.”
“We decline, thank you,” Shibi tells him through gritted teeth.
“I am afraid there’s no such thing,” Danzou tells him off. “I have the authority to recruit whoever I choose and I’ve chosen Shino. Do you really want to go up against my authority? Do you think that the Aburame are strong enough to counter all of Konoha?”
Something tugs on his sleeve, a movement so tiny he only recognizes it a moment too late.
“You should pick me instead,” Torune declares, stepping out of Shibi’s shadow. “My father was Shikuro Aburame and I carry his Rinkaichu.”
“Is that so?” Danzou’s smile seems to be too wide for his face now. “Well, I agree. Aburame-san, it’s your choice. Shino or Torune, who will leave with me?”
It’s an impossible decision, really.
But Torune seems to know that, reaching for his hand. “Let me do it,” he whispers. “Shino will never have to live a life of loneliness like I do. I’ll be fine.”
Shibi all but chokes on the words, the unfairness of the world as he tries to speak.
“When does he have to leave?”
“Right now,” Danzou declares almost bored. “I don’t have all day.”
“Please,” Shibi begs, all pride forgotten. “Let him say goodbye to his mother.”
For a moment all hope of that seems lost but then he nods, just once, before turning. “We’ll pick him up tomorrow at sunrise. Don’t try anything.”
-
Shibi finds you praying by his bedside that night, your lips moving without any sound.
Shino’s fallen asleep in their bed again, curled around Natsu, not quite understanding the severity of today’s events.
But Torune, always the calm one, had retreated to his own bed as if already resigning himself to a life without his family only to call for you at the very last minute.
They’ve barely got more than a year together, barely figured out how to juggle all of the things on their plates, barely found themselves happy and safe and at peace only to be plunged into chaos again.
Shibi leans forward to kiss the top of your head, half expecting you to move away.
But you let him in, let him feel the grief that’s already encasing you.
Tomorrow, hours before Shino or Natsu wake, Torune will leave this house as if he’d never been a part of it.
-
Torune leaves with one last hug, one last brush of his gloved hands through Natsu’s thick hair. He leaves without tears, a pendant carved from antler pressed into his hand.
Shibi knows he’ll have to give it up soon, but he hopes he’ll be able to savour it at least for a moment, the memory of the life he’s had.
The door closes behind him and something in you shatters, so visibly it terrifies him.
But you don’t cry and you don’t sink to the floor, you just nod once and turn for the stairs.
“Where are you going?” He asks, terror still lacing his voice.
“I need to sleep,” you answer him, your voice empty. “I’m tired.”
And you stay tired, day after day after day until you only leave bed when he begs you.
- - -
“You can’t go on like this,” Chiasa points out just seconds before he makes it into the room to stop her.
You’re still in bed at three in the afternoon, Natsu playing on the blanket covering his part of the bed.
“Mother,” he calls out to her, but she’s stiff as a board, ignoring him.
“You’ve got two more children who need you.”
“Mother,” he insists again, pulling her out into the hallway. “This is not helping!”
“Letting her continue isn’t helping either!” Chiasa admonishes him. “She’s hurting everyone, but most of all herself.”
“She’s doing her best!”
“Not eating?” Chiasa fires back. “Not moving, just sleeping and withering away? If I didn’t know better I’d think it’s Zoka in that bed.”
He takes a step back, feeling very much like he’d just gotten punched in the stomach.
His mother’s face is apologetic but it’s too late for that.
“Please,” he asks. “This has been hard for her.”
Chiasa’s features soften. “I’ll take Natsu this afternoon. Please try to make her eat something. Or take a bath.”
Bath’s, he’s found out, are not to be offered. Because bath time was something you shared with Torune.
But he manages to coerce you into the shower, your body frail under his hands as he soaps you up.
His mother is right. You have turned into a shadow of your former self and there’s not much difference between you and his former wife.
If only he’d knew how to pull you out of this, how to breathe some life into you at least if he can’t bring Torune back.
-
The Uchiha massacre comes and goes without you being aware of it.
It’s the only time he’s glad of your catatonic state because he can only wonder what that knowledge would do to you otherwise.
He reaches out to help the best he can, but just the thought of adopting Uchiha Sasuke is met with disdain. He’s going to live alone at six years old, with nothing but a grown up to check on him from time to time.
What has Konohagakure come to?
-.- Airi -.-
Your eyelids are heavy. It’s almost impossible to keep them open, so much easier to slip back into sleep.
But your bladder rallies against it until you finally manage to crack one eye open and find the door. The distance is terrifying. Maybe the urge to pee will go away if you keep lying here long enough.
The door creeks open under your tired gaze, a head of blond hair slipping through the open crack.
“Are you asleep?” A voice asks and then two shockingly blue eyes are trained upon you.
It takes you a second to recognize Naruto. You blame it on your exhaustion.
“Not anymore,” you answer.
Without asking he climbs onto the bed, his knees digging into your stomach once.
“You smell weird,” Naruto points out once he’s lying next to you. His own breath isn’t much better, carrying the faint scent of Instant Ramen.
“Sorry.”
“Shino said you’re sick,” Naruto explains, lifting your blanket to peek under it. “You look sick. Did you eat something wrong?”
“No,” you swallow around your dry tongue. “I’ve lost my son.”
“Oh?” Naruto blinks. “I can help you find him. I’m really good at hide and seek.”
“He’s not lost like that.”
Naruto nods as if he understands. “Okay. But Kiba can smell people like, really far away. He can help us look for him. Or, if he’s lost outside of Konoha, there are squads for that kind of thing.”
“He’s not lost like that, Naruto.”
Naruto nods again, slipping under the blanket with you.
“What kind of lost is he then?”
“The kind that never comes back.”
“Like my parents?”
Your breath shudders in your chest.
“Yeah,” you choke out. Naruto curls into your side.
“You know,” he tells you quietly, nose curled against your aparent smell. “When I grow up and become Hokage, I’ll make sure no one ever gets lost like that again.”
And it’s nothing more but the dream of a child, a dream you wish you could see come true.
Somehow though, it lights a first spark in your chest, then another, blinding spots of light behind your closed eyes until you remember a conversation that seems to have happened almost too long ago to remember.
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” You ask, letting the dough settle.
Torune, watching you as always, hesitates for a second.
“Not lonely. Or, at the very least, I want to make sure that no one else will have to be.”
“Naruto?” You ask, your limbs prickling with the need to move, to rise, to live. “Can you help me to the bathroom?”
-
You’ll never be quite able to explain it, that sensation that gained momentum in your chest.
But if you can do anything in your life, you want it to be the fulfillment of Torune’s dream.
